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ClareR (5996 KP) rated Wandering Souls in Books
Mar 25, 2023
Since reading Wandering Souls on The Pigeonhole, it has made it on to the Women’s Prize long list. And well-deserved it is too.
This is the story of a family who make it by boat to Hong Kong from Vietnam. At least Anh and her two brothers do. Their parents and younger siblings come after them and drown.
This is Anh’s story, and how she copes on their journey from Vietnam to Hong Kong, and then on to London where they settle permanently. It’s a story of loss, life-long trauma and the struggle to find security and happiness. It brought home the continuing issues of refugees - particularly those who take the dangerous route of the sea. It always makes me think of these lines from Warsan Shire’s “Home”:
“You have to understand that no one puts children in a boat
Unless the water is safer than the land”
Anh and her family want a better life than that of poverty, war and political oppression.
This is a dark story and the experiences have such a huge effect on every aspect of Anh and her brothers lives, and you can still see this in the interactions that Anh has with her own children.
It’s a wonderful book, and well worth reading. I’ve learnt so much about the Vietnamese people who resettled in the UK and their journeys here.
I wouldn’t be at all disappointed to see this make the short list.
This is the story of a family who make it by boat to Hong Kong from Vietnam. At least Anh and her two brothers do. Their parents and younger siblings come after them and drown.
This is Anh’s story, and how she copes on their journey from Vietnam to Hong Kong, and then on to London where they settle permanently. It’s a story of loss, life-long trauma and the struggle to find security and happiness. It brought home the continuing issues of refugees - particularly those who take the dangerous route of the sea. It always makes me think of these lines from Warsan Shire’s “Home”:
“You have to understand that no one puts children in a boat
Unless the water is safer than the land”
Anh and her family want a better life than that of poverty, war and political oppression.
This is a dark story and the experiences have such a huge effect on every aspect of Anh and her brothers lives, and you can still see this in the interactions that Anh has with her own children.
It’s a wonderful book, and well worth reading. I’ve learnt so much about the Vietnamese people who resettled in the UK and their journeys here.
I wouldn’t be at all disappointed to see this make the short list.
Alison Pink (7 KP) rated The Perfect Death (Detective John Stallings #3) in Books
Jan 15, 2018
Let me begin by saying that this book introduced me to a wonderful author who I can not wait to read more of!! I love when I can say that about any book, especially a book that I won from First Reads!
The Perfect Death was non-stop action & suspense from page one. It truly started off to hook the reader & it worked for me! The plot felt incredibly real particularly the parts dealing with the Jacksonville Sheriffs & how police handle investigations. The fascinating part was not how the characters handled the police work, but how they interacted with each other. It seemed like a real life workplace with honest to God co-workers.
The plot itself deals with a serial killer who has been on the hunt in North Florida. He finds young, naive victims & strangles them with a cord. As the story continues you find out that he is using them to complete his "work of art." He is a glass blower & blows jars in which he traps his victims' last breaths before he proceeds to strangle them to death.
This book is a fascinating look into real police work & the mind of a serial killer. A person no one thought to take a second glance at until it was too late. I really do look forward to reading more from this author in the future!!!
The Perfect Death was non-stop action & suspense from page one. It truly started off to hook the reader & it worked for me! The plot felt incredibly real particularly the parts dealing with the Jacksonville Sheriffs & how police handle investigations. The fascinating part was not how the characters handled the police work, but how they interacted with each other. It seemed like a real life workplace with honest to God co-workers.
The plot itself deals with a serial killer who has been on the hunt in North Florida. He finds young, naive victims & strangles them with a cord. As the story continues you find out that he is using them to complete his "work of art." He is a glass blower & blows jars in which he traps his victims' last breaths before he proceeds to strangle them to death.
This book is a fascinating look into real police work & the mind of a serial killer. A person no one thought to take a second glance at until it was too late. I really do look forward to reading more from this author in the future!!!
Merissa (13363 KP) rated Soul of Discretion in Books
May 2, 2018
Soul of Discretion by Susan Mac Nicol & M. Tasia
Soul of Discretion is written by both Susan Mac Nicol and M. Tasia. Ms Mac Nicol's work I have read and enjoyed before, but I think Ms Tasia's work is new to me.
In a nutshell, this story is about a man finding out his friend has been stealing from him, so he goes to confront him. Things take a darker turn when his friend is murdered, and it looks like the mob is involved. On a lighter note, the one night stand turns out to be a repeat, and in the RCMP.
I really liked this story. It has enough twists and turns to keep the reader's attention, whilst not drowning in detail. The relationship between the two MCs moves fast, but it is only right it does so. They work very well together, complementing each other in nearly every aspect. There is a great supporting cast, with Peter and Steph being amongst my personal favourites.
With no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt my reading flow, this book was a delight from start to finish. Thoroughly enjoyable and definitely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
In a nutshell, this story is about a man finding out his friend has been stealing from him, so he goes to confront him. Things take a darker turn when his friend is murdered, and it looks like the mob is involved. On a lighter note, the one night stand turns out to be a repeat, and in the RCMP.
I really liked this story. It has enough twists and turns to keep the reader's attention, whilst not drowning in detail. The relationship between the two MCs moves fast, but it is only right it does so. They work very well together, complementing each other in nearly every aspect. There is a great supporting cast, with Peter and Steph being amongst my personal favourites.
With no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt my reading flow, this book was a delight from start to finish. Thoroughly enjoyable and definitely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
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Organizing for Creative People: How to Channel the Chaos of Creativity into Career Success
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"Sheila gave me the tools to hunt success and the strategies to cope with it when it came. She...
Merissa (13363 KP) rated Cocktails & Casualties (Crooked Cove Mysteries #1) in Books
Aug 17, 2023
COCKTAILS & CASUALTIES is the first book in the Crooked Cove Mysteries and we are introduced to Teddy, a wandering bartender who decides to go exploring by herself when the cruise ship she is on docks at an island. Unfortunately, time gets away from her and she ends up stranded. Luckily for her, she is found by a nice couple who take her to 'civilisation' where she can at least eat and sleep in a bed for the night. Then her adventures really begin.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story as Teddy becomes good friends with Jazz, and learns all about the other members of the community. Hawk is a great character and I hated what happened, although he still managed to hit me in the feels near the end of the book. There is a slight triangle here with Nate and Santi, which I'm hoping doesn't become a thing. Santi, all the way!
The pacing was wonderful and all the characters well fleshed out. I enjoyed my time in Crooked Cove and look forward to returning, where (hopefully) I'll see more of Santi! Definitely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Aug 17, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed this story as Teddy becomes good friends with Jazz, and learns all about the other members of the community. Hawk is a great character and I hated what happened, although he still managed to hit me in the feels near the end of the book. There is a slight triangle here with Nate and Santi, which I'm hoping doesn't become a thing. Santi, all the way!
The pacing was wonderful and all the characters well fleshed out. I enjoyed my time in Crooked Cove and look forward to returning, where (hopefully) I'll see more of Santi! Definitely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Aug 17, 2023
Merissa (13363 KP) rated Out of Focus in Books
Apr 29, 2022 (Updated Jun 23, 2023)
OUT OF FOCUS is a short story about two men working behind the scenes in a Welsh theatre. They are opposites in the fact that one is charming and one seems almost dour. There are reasons for it, of course, but they don't come to light immediately.
I loved how we met other characters too, getting a hint into their lives, not just the main characters. Alex and Luke take centre stage though in this low-angst slow-burn-but-not-quite romance. The attraction has been there for a couple of years without either of them acting on it, but once Alex is injured, all bets are off.
As with all of this author's works, I found the small details absolutely brilliant, and really help to make the story one that intrigues and compels you to keep turning the pages.
Although I'm not a huge fan of short stories, this one went down a treat, with all the information I could need, including a perfect epilogue to keep me happy. Absolutely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Apr 22, 2022
I loved how we met other characters too, getting a hint into their lives, not just the main characters. Alex and Luke take centre stage though in this low-angst slow-burn-but-not-quite romance. The attraction has been there for a couple of years without either of them acting on it, but once Alex is injured, all bets are off.
As with all of this author's works, I found the small details absolutely brilliant, and really help to make the story one that intrigues and compels you to keep turning the pages.
Although I'm not a huge fan of short stories, this one went down a treat, with all the information I could need, including a perfect epilogue to keep me happy. Absolutely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Apr 22, 2022
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2434 KP) rated Shady Hollow in Books
Oct 3, 2025 (Updated Oct 3, 2025)
Not Bad, but Didn’t Quite Work For Me
Welcome to the village of Shady Hollow, a place where woodland creatures live in peace and harmony. That is, until someone kills Otto, a toad. Vera Vixen, a fox and reporter for the local paper, is on the case. But can she figure out who committed the crime?
When I heard about this series, I had to give the book a chance since it sounded creative and fun. The book’s omniscient narration took a little for me to adjust to, but once I did, it worked okay. It did give the book a slower start than I would have liked, but the mystery was decent once it got going. And I liked the characters. While I found the idea of these characters living side by side and interacting fun, it does take some buying into this world, something I was ready to do. I did feel the authors could have done a more creative job of creating their world, or at least that’s what I was expecting. My biggest hang up was the idea of interspecies romance. I realize that’s a me thing, but it is enough that I won’t be returning to the series. Others love it, so if this intrigues you, by all means, give the series a chance.
When I heard about this series, I had to give the book a chance since it sounded creative and fun. The book’s omniscient narration took a little for me to adjust to, but once I did, it worked okay. It did give the book a slower start than I would have liked, but the mystery was decent once it got going. And I liked the characters. While I found the idea of these characters living side by side and interacting fun, it does take some buying into this world, something I was ready to do. I did feel the authors could have done a more creative job of creating their world, or at least that’s what I was expecting. My biggest hang up was the idea of interspecies romance. I realize that’s a me thing, but it is enough that I won’t be returning to the series. Others love it, so if this intrigues you, by all means, give the series a chance.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Don't Let Go (2019) in Movies
Nov 4, 2019
Don't Let Go nearly passed me by, last minute advertising popped it back onto my radar and I was still suitably intrigued by it and managed to catch it at my local. The idea seemed like an interesting one, it worked for Frequency so why not now too? After seeing the film though you realise that if you take the sci-fi out you could easily adapt the story into a regular thriller. I thought they handled the "time travel" between cuts in a very good way, but ultimately the lack of explanation felt like a letdown and the ending felt rather unfulfilling too.
They do some of my least favourite camera work, bouncy cameras and the opening gliding shot didn't sit well with me. Just once I'd like to see a camera in a car that only jumps when they hit a pothole or take a speed bump.
The majority of the film is following Jack, played by David Oyelowo, he does a good job of the mania that you'd expect from this situation. There's always the issue with situations that are more real than science fiction... how can you even begin to work out what you'd do? It felt believable and that was a fairly impressive feat.
I'd previously seen Storm Reid in A Wrinkle In Time which I loved, but in neither film did I find her easy to watch. She's got a talent for sure but sometimes things don't seem all that natural on screen.
As I said, the idea is intriguing, I'm hopeful that appeal will be enough for some people to find this film entertaining. I enjoyed it for the most part but the disappointing ending and too many points left to "it's a mystery" mean I won't be putting this very high on the list of things to rewatch.
Full review originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/11/dont-let-go-movie-review.html
They do some of my least favourite camera work, bouncy cameras and the opening gliding shot didn't sit well with me. Just once I'd like to see a camera in a car that only jumps when they hit a pothole or take a speed bump.
The majority of the film is following Jack, played by David Oyelowo, he does a good job of the mania that you'd expect from this situation. There's always the issue with situations that are more real than science fiction... how can you even begin to work out what you'd do? It felt believable and that was a fairly impressive feat.
I'd previously seen Storm Reid in A Wrinkle In Time which I loved, but in neither film did I find her easy to watch. She's got a talent for sure but sometimes things don't seem all that natural on screen.
As I said, the idea is intriguing, I'm hopeful that appeal will be enough for some people to find this film entertaining. I enjoyed it for the most part but the disappointing ending and too many points left to "it's a mystery" mean I won't be putting this very high on the list of things to rewatch.
Full review originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/11/dont-let-go-movie-review.html
Merissa (13363 KP) rated Wonderfully Wicked (The Dreamcaster Series #1) in Books
Jun 19, 2018
Wonderfully Wicked (The Dreamcaster Series #1) by C.J. Burright
Wonderfully Wicked is the first book in The Dreamcaster series, and we start off with Kalila. She is an 'normal' woman plagued with un-normal nightmares. These nightmares can come to life and hurt both Kalila and those around her if she allows them. Lydon is the Black, and has come to take her to the Alderwood where she will be stripped of the nightmares. This will help his order and Kalila, although she won't survive long enough to appreciate that. His mission changes when she whispers his name, and he realises that she is HIS dreamcaster - the one he can be partnered with for life. Of course, now he just has to convince Kalila of this.
This is a fast-paced story, full of strong and sassy heroines, dark and brooding heroes, and slimy bad guys. It is very easy to see in which camp each character belongs. On the whole, this was a completely enjoyable story that kept my attention from start to end. The only time I got a bit confused was the jail break at the end, when Kalila seems to have a dream within a dream, and it changed from one scene to the next rather quickly.
An excellent start to the series, with a new and refreshing take on the paranormal scene. With no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt my reading, this story flowed easily. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and I look forward to the rest in the series. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This is a fast-paced story, full of strong and sassy heroines, dark and brooding heroes, and slimy bad guys. It is very easy to see in which camp each character belongs. On the whole, this was a completely enjoyable story that kept my attention from start to end. The only time I got a bit confused was the jail break at the end, when Kalila seems to have a dream within a dream, and it changed from one scene to the next rather quickly.
An excellent start to the series, with a new and refreshing take on the paranormal scene. With no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt my reading, this story flowed easily. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and I look forward to the rest in the series. Absolutely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Prophecy (Antigone: The True Story, #1) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<b><i>I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>Like many classics, I'm not a huge fan of <i>Oedipus Rex </i>(let's just say it was a little boring here and there and maybe I needed Shmoop to help me understand what was going on).
Anyways, despite the fact I struggled with writing an essay over Oedipus, <i>Prophecy </i>seemed interesting enough simply because of the fact Oedipus isn't the main character. Prophecy tells the story of Antigone, one of Oedipus daughters, and a princess of Thebes who is believed to be both blessed and cursed (the former being the most popular with the latter being an internal admission) by the gods at the same time - at least in McBurnies version.
There does, however, seem to be a bit of a repetition that irked me after it occurred a few times - everyone keeps telling Antigone she's blessed by the gods and she has a gift, yada yada, and it really just made the story feel much slower than it was actually going. (I mean, I totally get why but still .)
I really enjoyed McBurnies take of <i>Oedipus Rex</i> in <i>Prophecy </i>- the author breaks down the original story and simplifies it, yet she takes her own spin of the tale from a different perspective (Antigone). It's a refreshing take and from the way McBurnie ends the story, I'm extremely curious where and what the sequel will lead to.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-prophecy-by-coreena-mcburnie/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Anyways, despite the fact I struggled with writing an essay over Oedipus, <i>Prophecy </i>seemed interesting enough simply because of the fact Oedipus isn't the main character. Prophecy tells the story of Antigone, one of Oedipus daughters, and a princess of Thebes who is believed to be both blessed and cursed (the former being the most popular with the latter being an internal admission) by the gods at the same time - at least in McBurnies version.
There does, however, seem to be a bit of a repetition that irked me after it occurred a few times - everyone keeps telling Antigone she's blessed by the gods and she has a gift, yada yada, and it really just made the story feel much slower than it was actually going. (I mean, I totally get why but still .)
I really enjoyed McBurnies take of <i>Oedipus Rex</i> in <i>Prophecy </i>- the author breaks down the original story and simplifies it, yet she takes her own spin of the tale from a different perspective (Antigone). It's a refreshing take and from the way McBurnie ends the story, I'm extremely curious where and what the sequel will lead to.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-prophecy-by-coreena-mcburnie/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>